Greenpeace volunteers stage a colorful protest on the second anniversary of the introduction of GMO papaya in Thailand in front of Agriculture Ministry on Thursday. They called for the ministry to eliminate the GMO papaya from the country.

Greenpeace sued the Department of Agriculture (DOA) Wednesday for what it described as widespread contamination of Thai farms by genetically engineered papaya.

The environmental group is seeking punishment of officials who allowed the illegal distribution of genetically modified (GMO) papaya seeds to farmers across Thailand.

"We decided to sue DOA because we have been waiting for more than two years for them to do their duties," said Patwajee Srisuwan, a genetic engineering campaigner for Greenpeace Southeast Asia.

The group also wants the DOA to revoke an order allowing open field trials of GMO papaya and for the department to perform additional decontamination of papaya plants tainted by the genetically engineered fruit, she said.

"Greenpeace tried every means to get the DOA to stop this massive GMO papaya contamination and end all GMO field trials, but the DOA and related government agencies failed to act to protect public interest," Patwajee said.

Thailand has pushed the GMO research in hopes of improving crops by making papaya more resistant to disease.

The first spread of the seeds was found last year in the northeastern province of Khon Kaen, after Greenpeace accused the government of illegally selling the seeds from a research station there.

The environmental group filed a complaint with the rights commission, alleging the spread of the seeds violated the rights of farmers and consumers, damaged the environment, and breached a 2001 law that banned field trials of genetically modified organisms, known as GMOs.

Thailand's Human Rights Commission said in September that the genetically modified seeds had spread to one third of 31 papaya orchards in four provinces they surveyed in July.

"The GMO papaya contamination must serve as a lesson to all government agencies who are conducting GMO experiments. GMOs pose threats to the health, environment and livelihood of the Thai people," Patwajee said.

The cabinet in 2001 banned GMO field trials. Current law forbids the public sale of GMO seeds and requires products containing more than five percent of a genetically modified ingredient to be clearly labelled.

The group of activists to promote sustainable agriculture from Greenpeace Southeast Asia showed five zombie effigies characterising papaya, rice, tomato, pineapple, and chili at their demonstration and they submitted the letter to the prime minister in their attempt to stop Agriculture Minister Thira Sutabutr's plan to push for a cabinet waiver on the nationwide ban on GMO farming trials.

Nutthawipa Iwsakun, a Greenpeace Southeast Asia coordinator, said the group called for the cabinet and the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) to reject the ministry's controversial draft to protect the right of Thai people from GMO plants, which can be a threat to environment and consumer health.

The NGO activist said that the zombie effigies signify that GMO technology is hazardous and can destroy Thailand's agriculture and environment. If GMO plants are leaked to open farming areas, they are like a Pandora's Box of zombies that will roam around and can't be called back into control. The GMO plants will spread and contaminate native plants, she said.

If the cabinet accepts revoking the existing ban, it means the interim government favours a few transnational companies to their benefit and to the detriment of the future of Thai farmer and commodities that depend on export markets which reject GM produce, Ms. Nutthawipa added.

Eleven tonnes of papayas were dumped outside the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry yesterday by Greenpeace in protest at the agency's move to lift a ban on open-field trials of genetically-modified crops.
Greenpeace's protest against the lifting of a ban on open-field trials of genetically-modified (GM) papaya yesterday was met with an unexpected reaction from a crowd of onlookers.

Passers-by took matters, and tonnes of papayas dumped by Greenpeace, into their own hands, and ran off.

The environmental group dumped the papayas in front of the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry yesterday to make its objection to the lifting of the ban loud and clear to the government.

It was the second protest about the controversial issue in five days after reports the ministry will today seek cabinet approval for the lifting of the ban on open-field trials of transgenic crops.

But this time, after the dumping, people flocked to load up on the free papayas, ignoring the environmental organisation's campaign against the dangers of GM fruit _ a message Greenpeace has been trying to get through to the government and the public for years.

Many passers-by, who mostly knew nothing about transgenic fruit, said they did not care about any health risks.

Mrs Gig helped herself to three sacks of the fruit in minutes. Others, including some ministry officials and Rasi Salai dam protesters from Sri Sa Ket province who were camped near the ministry, also did not let the opportunity slip by.

A man waiting in traffic for the lights to go green near the ministry, leapt out of his car and joined the feast.

''I'm not scared of GM papayas. Rather, I'm scared I won't have any to eat,'' said Ubon Ratchathani villager Ampon Tantima, 31, before rushing back to his car with the free fruit.

Only some people at yesterday's protest said they would not eat GM papayas in case there were health risks.

Greenpeace, a staunch protester against GM foods, did not say that all its three truckloads of papayas dumped at the ministry were genetically modified.

But GM papaya seeds, experimented on by the Khon Kaen Agricultural Research Station, were found by the group to have slipped through to 2,669 farmers in 37 provinces three years ago.

The group, blocking three entrance gates to the ministry with mountains of papayas, demanded the government not repeal the April 13 cabinet resolution, which bans GM open-field trials.

The group fears that if the field trials are allowed, pollen from GM papayas or other crops will be carried by insects or the wind to contaminate non-GM farms.

They also warned that open-field GM trials, if they go ahead, will hit Thailand's exports of agricultural produce as other countries would order a halt to crop imports from Thailand.

Natwipha Ewasakul, a genetic engineering campaigner for Greenpeace Southeast Asia, said the crowd scrambling for the dumped papayas yesterday reflected a lack of knowledge about GMO issues among Thai consumers.

''This shows the failure of government agencies to educate people about the possible health risks of genetically-engineered crops,'' she said.

The incident was also clear evidence that once crops were contaminated with GMOs, people would not be able to avoid eating them because it was impossible to identify GM from non-GM food, said Ms Natwipha. ''This is the true danger of GM food,'' she said.